Long-Term Effects of Chemo on the Cognitive Function of Cancer Patients

[Hopeful]

http://www.cancernetwork.com/nurses/content/article/10165/2104804#

Hopeful

[Carol.hope]

"... have started looking at genetic predictors of susceptibility to cognitive impairment during and after chemotherapy....Dr. Ahles found that APOE (http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2012/08/26/JCO.2012.43.5776), which is a gene associated with Alzheimer’s, a particular variant of this gene does put people at greater risk for impairment. We found another gene, COMT, which affects dopamine (http://www.mims.com/USA/drug/search/dopamine) in the brain also can put people at risk. ... some people do really well during chemotherapy and others have more problems, and so we are really interested in figuring out who does well and who doesn’t."

I'm glad to know somebody's looking at ApoE4. I learned too late that I have that gene, as do about 25% of people. This gene makes it much harder to recover from any kind of brain injury, including chemo brain injury. I would strongly recommend having this gene test, even though it is expensive, before deciding on which chemo to take. The cost is nothing compared to not being able to hold a job for the rest of your life.

Because I wrote a book on recovering from chemo brain, I have heard from many others who can no longer do their former occupations, and can barely live a "normal" life, after chemo. It is NOT just about stress. MRIs show white matter brain changes, and scientists are just unraveling the important role of white matter in transmitting information from one part of the brain to another.

[karen z]

Really fascinating article- thanks.

[rhondalea]

I would strongly recommend having this gene test, even though it is expensive, before deciding on which chemo to take. The cost is nothing compared to not being able to hold a job for the rest of your life.

Not expensive if you use direct-to-consumer testing through 23andMe. The cost is now $99, and it provides information on ApoE and COMT, among many others.

I'm ApoE3/Apoe4, and all my COMT snps are wonky. I still think it was the benzyl alcohol that did me in, though, because I'm slowly improving.

[Ellie F]

Fascinating article.
Wondered if certain chemo drugs are more likely to cause this than others? Clearly the breast cancer combos are suspect but what about others?
Ellie